The Greatest Flame

Title: The Greatest Flame

POV: Jocasta

Timescale: Following Episode 21 “Conversations with Dread People”

Written by: Voirrey

The lyrics quoted are from songs on the Runrig album “Amazing Things”.

The Greatest Flame.

This is our life, and our time

And nothing is ever going to break us

Now we’re on our own.

This is our time. A little bit of time out from the everyday humdrum things of life – The Apocalypse, Slaying, Demons, Dead People, Dread People, being a turtle, just the everyday things. Jack and I are sitting side by side in a tiny little plane, heading for the Shetlands.

In Whitby we have left James in charge, surrounded by Slayers – Roxy, Gabriella, Teresa, Grace, Louise, Manuelita, and even Donna and Ross. After Willow’s Slayer Activation spell we have an awful lot of organizing to do, along with an awful lot of Slayers, but after the victory over the forces of The First at Sunnydale, I’m fairly sure that Whitby will be quiet for a few days anyway.

It’s strange to think that as we witnessed The First leaving Elijah, and didn’t fully understand what was happening, poor Spike was being engulfed by the power of the amulet he was wearing, and preventing the Apocalypse. He was the Souled Vampire in the prophecy, not Angel after all, but I am very saddened to think that he had to give up life (or unlife?) to fulfil it.

I do wonder about the rings though. If Spike is no more, I would have expected Jenny’s ring to spawn another one, as it did for Harmony. James, Gabriella and Teresa were pleasantly surprised to hear that Harmony had fought bravely in the closing of the Sunnydale Hellmouth, they had not expected her to feel called to help – maybe an effect of the ring; I wonder.

Perhaps there is no replacement ring because we have averted the Apocalypse, and we no longer need the fellowship to be complete. Perhaps the fellowship is now complete at twenty-four instead of twenty-five. Perhaps it is because Spike was not rejected by his ring in the way Angel was. A tiny part of me would like to think that perhaps there is no replacement ring because Spike is still around wearing the original, but as there can be no mistaking what Buffy saw, and no mistaking that Sunnydale is a very large hole in the ground, there is really no chance that he is still alive there. Maybe, just maybe, there is the possibility that he still physically exists somewhere – but that somewhere would have to be in the dimension the Hellmouth was open into – the one we were in to rescue Kat. I’m not sure how possible that is, or how we could find out. I must talk it over with Giles, or possibly Magda or Willow.

I look across at Jack. He is also deep in thought, gazing out of the window. We are almost all right now. When I talked to him about what I thought The First was doing to him, and to us, it helped. The gap between us had been becoming wider and wider by the hour, becoming an ocean. But that night it came down to a stream, a stream that we could just about reach over to touch hands. That night we lay together in one bed, and just held each other, nothing more, but we were back in touch. As he fought against Elijah and his minions, and realised that they had been sent by The First, and he was not intimidated by them, you could see his self confidence returning, and as we realised that we had won that battle, he came to hug me – the gap was down to a crack. The crack is still there, but I think it may disappear altogether now.

So what are we doing on a small plane flying to Shetland? When we were in Uganda, and Jack got his ring, he commented, on realising that he could now walk in the light ‘Actually it’s a bit sad – I was going to ask you to go up to the Shetlands for the annular eclipse so that we could take a stroll in the light – no need now.’ I had replied ‘Jack that is probably the most romantic thought anyone has ever had about me - and if we survive that long, I would love to go for a walk in the Shetlands with you in the eclipse!’ Whilst I was in the States, Jack had made the arrangements for us to do that very thing, but he hadn’t mentioned it again, and we had been so busy that I had lost track of when the annular eclipse was to be.

Then yesterday, he said ‘Do you still want to come to the Shetlands with me Cass? We seem to have survived long enough.’ We have survived, all of us. Some of the girls in Sunnydale didn’t make it, and of course Spike, but we have survived, and I suddenly realized that to just take a break was probably what I most wanted to do in the world. I could leave Jocasta the Watcher behind, and just be Cass for a day or two – the world didn’t need me to hold it together. I think the fact that it only took me about twenty seconds to say ‘Yes’ when I realized when Jack meant, helped us to narrow the gap that bit more – had I said ‘No’, I think the ocean might have flooded back in.

We are coming in to land, dropping down to a tiny-looking airstrip, and I stop pondering, and watch the ground rush up to meet us.

………

It is 1a.m. and I am really enjoying myself. I had not really thought a great deal about what we were going to do once we got off the plane, and I definitely hadn’t imagined this! We are in a village hall in Unst – the most northerly Shetland Island, and so the one which will get the best view of the eclipse. Getting here involved quite a drive in the car Jack had hired, and ferry trips from island to island. The hotel is apparently the most northerly one in the British Isles, although I gather that the Shetlanders don’t really think of themselves as part of Britain - we are an awfully long way from Whitby, let alone London! Our hotel room is a little log cabin in the grounds of the main hotel, but we haven’t spent much time in it yet – we are here in Haroldswick Hall at a dance!

I haven’t had so much fun in ages. There are other ‘eclipse chasers’ here from all over the world, I have just been trying to teach a rather cuddly German gentleman how to do a reel! University in Edinburgh and time with my Scottish grandparents over the years means that I am feeling quite at home with the ceilidh atmosphere, and Jack looks even more at home here than me! He’d look pretty good in a kilt, now that I come to think of it, but they were never proper wear for a borderer, even if he’d been from the Scots side! Currently he is somewhere on the other side of the room swinging a young lady, who looks about fourteen, so energetically that her feet have been off the floor for at least a minute. He doesn’t seem to be suffering from his lowered strength that much, now that he’s used to it!

The music is changing to something more Roxy or Ross, and Jack flops down in the chair beside me grinning. ‘Enjoying yourself Cass? You look like you are! I think I’m going to sit out the next couple and get my breath back, unless the next one is slow enough for me to hold you close and prop myself up by hanging onto your bum! I’d forgotten how it feels to get out of breath!’ ‘I’m having a brilliant time!’ I replied, then after a pause ‘No regrets about the Mohra thing Jack?’ He paused briefly before replying ‘No, not now, even out of breath is good, in its own way!’

The dancing goes on, and by half three in the morning, the sunrise is tinting the sky, and everyone, old and young, pile into mini buses and cars, to head for the point on the island which is going to provide the best view of the coming eclipse. Perhaps more of a party than a romantic event!

………

Actually it was kind of romantic, in a communal sort of way. There were other couples standing arm and arm as the moon passed in front of the recently risen sun, out above the ocean, and it formed, at the perfect moment, a ring of light. We drifted away from the others, and down towards the water, where we stood in the shadow of the moon, and Jack dropped my hand, and smiled at me. Then I finally realized exactly what the note in the Watchers’ Council file on him meant by ‘has an affinity with shadows’ as he was suddenly not there, not even a darker patch of shadow, but truly, as he had described it to me, one with the shadow. I could see the sunlight glinting on the water behind where he must be, and knew he was still there as I heard a low chuckle.

Then he was standing beside me again, laughing. ‘I could show you a proper trick, if there weren’t people around’ he said, ‘about me fifth eclipse I realized that whilst there is any amount of moon over the sun I can walk on water, without being totally one with the shadow – sort of thing that could’ve got me burnt at the stake at the time! An’ the other really good thing during an eclipse is that I can go anywhere that’s part of it by sort of tele-porting, as everywhere is part of the same shadow, and I can be anywhere in it I want just by thinkin’ about it. If I’d still been a vampire, and without the ring, I could’ve stayed here with you until almost the last minute, then just sort of gone into the shadow here, and come out of it in the hotel room!’

I looked at him, rather open-mouthed, thinking about the enormity of what he had just told me and shown me. He laughed again, and said ‘Have I struck you dumb again, pet?’ I shook my head, and then answered ‘Jack, you must never, ever, worry that you are less of a warrior to us as a person, no vampire could ever do anything to compare with you. You were right when you said ages ago that you didn’t do magic, you just were magic, I just don’t think I’d ever fully realized how magic you are!’ Suddenly his expression changed, and a grin split his face, with a definite hint of a leer, as he said ‘I hope you mean in bed, pet!’ I laughed, and answered, ‘Well, of course!’ and I knew at that minute that the rift was totally healed.

………

It is 8a.m., and apart from a short rest yesterday evening before we went to the dance, I haven’t slept for about twenty-four hours. We have just had breakfast – my whole sense of time is haywire. I do so enjoy watching Jack eat! He does it with such obvious enjoyment. I do so enjoy watching the consequences as well – he works out regularly to make sure he isn’t going to run to fat! So now I’m not sure whether we ought to be going out sight seeing, or going to sleep! I have a feeling though that Jack’s thoughts are running to bed but not to sleep.

Jack puts a cd on, and I recognize Runrig. I once went to a concert in Edinburgh with some of my friends – we realized, Jack and I, talking about it a few months ago, that he was there as well – me, a Watcher in training, that close to a vampire and not noticing! No Brownie points there then! I think this must have been in Jack’s mind when he chose to bring this particular album, as it dates from about the same time.

The idea of ‘Amazing Things’ seems very apt, after the eclipse, and Jack’s demonstration of his powers. As he peels off his shirt I put my fingers out to his neck, to touch what I had thought I’d seen after he ‘became one with the shadow’, but hadn’t been sure about in that light. On his neck there is now only a fine silver line, where yesterday there was still a raised red line – where a fortnight ago there was a cut to the bone which almost took his head off. He holds my fingers against this faint scar, and looks deep into my eyes. ‘It is almost gone,’ I say, wonderingly. ‘Aye,’ he answers, ‘I think the healing power is still as good as it was before, although I wouldn’t have had the chance to find out if you hadn’t made sure we took those potions, because I wouldn’t have survived to get into any shadow, so I wouldn’t have been here to get this healing. I think the scar might be permanent, everything’s healed up, there’s no effect on me at all now, but I’m not sorry if the scar stays – it’ll remind me of what that bugger tried to do to me – to us. Like the Who said, I won’t get fooled again – but if anyone tries, this’ll remind me!’

He holds my fingers to his lips, and kisses them, then pulls me towards him, and transfers the kiss to my mouth. There is no hesitance in this kiss, it is deep and strong, and suddenly I am not tired any more, and I kiss back with the same urgency that I feel in Jack. The day is already becoming hot, and I can feel where sweat has tricked down between my breasts at the dance, I should shower, I should sleep, but I don’t care – I want to celebrate the healing of the rift between Jack and I in the best way possible, now.

Jack is holding me to his chest, and I press myself even closer, my breasts, under my thin top, squashed almost flat against his bare skin. His hands slide down behind me until, cupping my bottom, he lifts me just off my feet and tips me back onto the bed, landing neatly beside me a split second later. Jack’s lips are still on mine, as I hear the ‘thump’, ‘thump’, of his trainers being kicked off, and landing on the floor. I try doing the same thing, but mine won’t kick off as easily, and so I realize that unless I call a halt for a minute to undress properly, I am eventually going to end up with my knickers and jeans stuck around my ankles – so undignified, and not very romantic! I suppose Jack is just so much better at the practicalities of this sex thing, he’s had years of practice! Although come to think of it, he can’t have been wearing jeans and trainers for all those years, but the principle holds true I guess!

I relinquish the kiss, and say ‘Not fair – mine won’t kick off that easily – you’re way ahead of me!’ Jack laughs, and saying ‘Don’t move!’ sits up, and leans down to undo my trainers, then holding my foot in his hand reaches his head down towards it. I squirm, ‘Don’t! You can’t! I’ve had my trainers on for about twenty four hours, much of which I’ve spent dancing! If you start to kiss my feet I shall be too embarrassed to do anything but go and hide!’ He laughs, then holds the foot at arm’s length, and says, jokingly, ‘Maybe you’re right – but just you wait till later, and I bet I can make you so hot, without going above your ankle, that you’ll be begging me to shag you!’ ‘You’re on!’ I laugh. Then he moves back up the bed, and carefully peels off my top, and my jeans, until I am lying there in just my underwear (which matches – having a lover makes one so much more careful about one’s underwear!). Jack makes one of his small satisfied ‘Pooh noises’, and the next minute his jeans join mine on the floor, and he is stark naked beside me.

This is going to be fun! This is going to be so much fun! We haven’t done it since the ‘Rosa’ incident, even as we began to bridge that gulf that had appeared between us, there was Jack’s healing injury, and so much happening both here and in the States that we had the excuse that we were too busy/tired/worried etcetera. The truth was that we had to be totally comfortable with each other again, and now we are.

Jack’s hands and mouth are roaming across my body. Tongue dancing against my tongue, then trailing down to where he has eased my nipple up over the edge of my bra. He sucks the nipple into his mouth, his tongue swirling around it, and his teeth nibbling on it. When he was a vampire his tongue was cool against my body, now it is warm, but he still knows just how to tease until my nipples are hard and straining up towards him. His hands have slid the other breast up over the edge of the bra, and now one is teasing that nipple, whilst the other one draws circles around my navel.

I catch my hand in Jack’s hair, and twist around slightly, running my other hand down his back, searching to see how far I can reach. Slowly we twist and turn, as if in a dance, bodies moving in time to the music, the vocal line fading out – ‘Wonderful, too wonderful.’ I couldn’t have put it better myself.

The track changes, and as the new vocal line cuts in, I find myself held by the words – I pause and listen – ‘Like shadows on the wall, you come and you go.’ Jack feels me stilling, and glances up to my face – ‘I think they are playing your tune,’ I say, and he laughs gently, his mouth barely touching my skin, ‘Perhaps our tune’ he says, but then his mouth suddenly dips between my thighs, tongue sliding around the edge of my knickers (I think leaving them on is part of Jack’s game plan for now!), and I can’t give the lyrics my full attention any more!

Before Jack was re-turned his tongue was cool on my flesh, I remember the first time he did what he’s doing now, that it made me think of alabaster, or cool silk. Now it is warm, soft and caressing, sliding between my folds and making my whole pussy zing, making nerves throughout my body tingle. He is holding my knickers to one side with one hand, and I mutter about taking them off, but Jack lifts his head, his fingers continuing to slither where his tongue was, and says ‘No pet, leave them on, they hold the smell of you!’ It occurs to me that Jack may now have a better sense of taste, but he no longer has the heightened sense of smell of a vampire – does he miss it? I must ask him, but not now! ‘Anyway,’ he says, ‘You look incredibly sexy with your underwear just on, and not covering the bits it’s meant to hide!’ Catching a glimpse of us in the mirror, I see what he means – the breasts over the bra look a bit Regency!

Jack’s head is back between my thighs, and now he has both tongue and fingers probing, sliding, teasing, and I feel my back arching in response, pushing my pussy up towards him. He is making his usual small satisfied noises, but they are drowned out as my breathing becomes faster and more ragged, and I start to moan in time with his tongue and my own movements – ‘ Ah, ah, ah – aaaah!’ No-one passing this log cabin will wonder what is happening inside it – unless they’re deaf or a virgin!

My body is slick with sweat, and, as he has before, Jack smiles as I mewl after this first orgasm (I know there will be more!), then gently licks his way up my body. I remember, before, wondering whether it was a blood substitute – perhaps it was, but if so it couldn’t have occurred to him, or he would no longer do it! I’m glad he still does it; I love the feeling of his tongue on my skin, leaving a trail of saliva, a cool path. Jack tips me over, so that I am lying on my tummy, and his tongue traces a path from the cleft of my bum up my spine to my neck, then nibbles gently at the pulse in my neck. Had he done that in the early days of our relationship I don’t think it would have frightened me – it definitely doesn’t now, it just makes me moan, and squirm, and even wetter inside my knickers!

I run my tongue over my lips, and Jack notices. He turns my face a little, so that I am facing him, but still on my tummy, and starts to kiss me, but not letting me roll over. I reach down and take his cock in my hand, gently gripping it and squeezing. I am sucking and nibbling on Jack’s tongue, and he knows me well enough to know what I am thinking, as he breaks the kiss and says ‘You want something to suck on don’t you?’ and as I say ‘Yes, yes please’, trying to move so that my head could join my hand, he says ‘Mm, not just yet – fuck first, suck later, then more fuck, and more suck, and nibble and lick, stroke and rub until we’re too tired, or too hungry! Unless you have any objection, pet!’

As he said the last few words his hand had slid down between my thighs, and he illustrated stroke, and rub. ‘No, no objection! Fuck, fuck now!’ I gasp, and I start to move into a kneeling position, as Jack moves to straddle me from behind. He holds my knickers to one side, but doesn’t remove them, and slides his cock slowly into me. The knickers move against me as he moves and, as I lean on my elbows, my breasts spill out over the bra, and my nipples swing against the bed, being teased with every thrust. Jack is making satisfied grunts, and as I glance into the mirror I realise he is looking the same way, watching the movement of my breasts.

As we move together he reaches a hand down towards my clit, and tightens the fabric of my panties against it where it is swollen out between my labia, so that every thrust is also a rub, and I feel myself getting closer and closer to coming again. I thrust my bum up to meet each thrust and Jack gasps ‘Come for me Cass! Come NOW!’ And I oblige, feeling my muscles sucking in on his cock as it fills me with what I am sure is only my first dose of spunk today.

We stay together, pausing, for a few moments, and then Jack runs his fingers down my spine from the nape of my neck, making me arch my back and giggle. He laughs too, as my giggles send little shocks through my body and so into his cock, still inside me, then we roll over onto our sides, still linked by that most intimate of connections, so that I am lying with my bum pushed against the base of Jack’s belly, and he slides his arms around me so that he is holding a breast in each hand. My bra is really doing nothing functional at all now – it is merely framing my boobs, but Jack makes no move to take it off, and I cannot reach in this position without performing contortions, and so it stays - almost on!

We lie like this for a while – the singer is now singing in what I know is Gaelic – nice sounds, but I don’t understand it. Jack is quietly singing along in snatches, Gaelic is one of the languages he has picked up along the way. The light filtering through the folds in the curtains, is throwing bands of shadow across us, and I know that Jack is drawing strength from this, apart from his ring now giving him recuperative powers close to that of a Slayer, and so I am not surprised that he is still fairly hard inside me.

Now it is me who breaks the connection, as I ease away, and roll over into a kneeling position, facing Jack. I smile at him, and then put my hands onto my boobs where his have just been, pushing them a little closer together, the bra helping, but not restraining them at all. ‘How about stroke, or is it rub, with maybe a bit of suck?’ I ask him, and he laughs gently, and says ‘I thought you’d never ask, pet!’ He rolls up into a kneeling position as well, facing and just touching me knee to knee, and then he kneels up, whilst I kneel down onto my bottom, so that his cock is now nestling between my breasts, and we start to rock against each other, in time to the music, which I realise must be on continuous play – we haven’t been that quick!

After a few minutes of this, I dip my head down so that I can catch the head of Jack’s cock in my mouth, adding the promised degree of suck, and we start to move in our own rhythm, starting to move faster than Runrig. I glance up at Jack’s face, and as I see his closed eyes, and hear his breathing quicken, I slide a hand down below my breasts, so that I can cup his balls in it – ‘Oh aye, pet! That’s good!’ he gasps, and I caress them, even pulling, very gently, in time to his thrusts, and before the next track has finished, Jack comes. As I feel the tightening that is the onset of his orgasm I move my mouth away from his cock, and watch as the liquid, creamy now, no longer clear but teaming with life (sounds like pond-dipping!), bubbles up and out onto my breasts, running down my cleavage. Watching this is one of my favourite things – although I don’t recall Julie Andrews mentioning it in the song!

As he gets his breathing under control, Jack drops back down onto his heels, so that our faces are level again, then puts out a hand, and traces the path of his come down between my boobs with a finger, then starts to rub it into my skin. ‘It’s supposed to help them grow!’ he comments. ‘I wonder what man invented that idea?’ I retorted. ‘Someone who wanted to get his cock between his girl’s boobs, I’ll bet!’ I continued, ‘and anyway, I don’t think mine need to grow any more!’ ‘Well I divn’t want to imply that they’re not perfect, love,’ Jack answered, ‘but if they grow by an ounce or two I definitely wouldn’t object! Anyway – if it is just macho propaganda, it’s pretty old macho propaganda – the first girl who asked me to squirt it on her titties and rub it in must’ve been dead these few hundred years!’

This time, he does take off my bra, so that my boobs drop a bit, and hang free, then he continues slowly rubbing his come in, circling the nipples with his thumbs until they are taut and tingly again, and the warm air has dried them. I smile, as I realise that Jack has moved around enough on the bed to have a band of shadow, now sharper as the sun outside grows brighter, falling across his groins, and he is already starting to become hard again. As I reach out a hand his cock jumps towards it, and my fingers curl around, I rejoice quietly again at the way his cock and my hand form such a perfect fit.

I am still kneeling, and this time Jack pushes me gently back onto the pillows, then grabs another pillow, and saying ‘Lift up a bit, pet,’ he slides it under my bum, tilting my pelvis up towards him, at the same time finally removes my rather damp knickers. Whilst I continue to enjoy the sensation of his cock in my hand, warm now, but otherwise still like alabaster wrapped in soft silky velvet, he slides a hand back down into my innermost folds, whilst the other one continues to stimulate first one breast then the other.

Jack dips fingers in and out of my vagina, then curls them forwards on an out stroke – clever, clever ex-vamp – he even knows about the G-spot, and has just, gasp, proven that it exists! As I gasp, he laughs ‘Good eh, Cass?’ and I find I really am speechless, as he does the same thing again; all I can do is make my own small Pooh noises. I don’t want him to stop, and yet I desperately want him to fuck me, my brain is boiling over, or possibly melting into a puddle of mud, I hang onto his cock as if it is a lifeline – WOW!

Suddenly I can hold back no longer, I come with a whoosh like a very large firework, and as I do, Jack swiftly replaced fingers with cock, as I yell ‘Hard! Hard! Fuck me really hard!’ (I hope there are no susceptible little old ladies within earshot!). Jack follows my instructions to the letter, and I am riding the crest of an orgasm which is going on and on, or maybe it is four or five all running into one another – hey! I am multi-orgasmic! No-one’s ever had this effect before! When, if ever, I am able to produce coherent speech again I must tell Jack!

Just as I feel that I cannot cope with any more sensation, Jack gasps loudly, and comes again, and I find myself laughing and laughing (like Linda in ‘The Pursuit of Love’), and Jack holds me very tight, and strokes me. When I open my eyes (funny, I hadn’t realised that I had even shut them!), I realise that Jack’s expression is definitely a very smug smirk. Well – he has every right! Finally I can talk, and I gasp ‘No more, I plead for mercy! I need a rest!’ and Jack laughs, but agrees that he doesn’t think even he could shag again without a rest – sleep, we need sleep!

…………

It is mid-afternoon, and I have just woken. What woke me? I think it must have been Jack moving away. I am still lying on top of the bed without any covers, a pillow still under my bum; we must have dropped into post-shag slumbering fairly quickly! I can hear the sound of the shower, and Jack is singing – I realise that the same album is still repeating itself, and I listen carefully to the track I already think of as ‘Jack’s Song.’ And now, I am going to go and join him in the shower- after all I have to have clean feet before we pick up where we left off!

Like shadows on the wall

You come and you go

Through the streets

And the rain that falls down

On our sin

No more goodbyes

Forever this way

Whenever the greatest flame in the world

Starts burning.

Always in your eyes

A waking of souls.

We gaze out onto the road that brought us up